"And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, 28 saying, 'We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us.' 29 But Peter and the apostles answered, 'We must obey God rather than men. 30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. 32 And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. 33 When they heard this, they were enraged and wanted to kill them."'
Acts 5:27-33
Though the world might rebel at God's Word, His divine authority, and His principles of righteousness, calling evil good and good evil; changing darkness for light and light for darkness, and being wise and clever in their own eyes, God’s Word and divine principles of righteousness will be settled forever in heaven. No matter who our opponents might be, though they readily reject God’s Message that saves all men, we must resolve to strengthen our efforts to speak the Truth in love (Eph. 4:15).
We must not compromise our faith and conviction. We must continue being lights that shine brightly in word and deed, doing all things in the name of the Lord by His authority (Col. 3:17). Remember that only the Gospel can make men free from sin.
"But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 8:32).
"And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32).
Thus, we must continue to take the Sword of the Spirit out of its sheath and move forward to fight against our society’s moral decay. We must keep crying aloud the Message of the Gospel to them and not hold it back. We must lift up our voices like a trumpet, declaring to all people their sins and transgressions that they might come to know God's goodness and grace and repent that He might save them from their sins.
"May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire" (2 Peter 1:2-4).
Our Father's kingdom shall never be destroyed. He will triumph in the end, even when wrong and wickedness seem so strong. God is still sitting and ruling on His eternal throne, a throne that does not tremble before the threats and darkness of this world. We, His faithful, must fight tooth and nail the good fight of our faith until the end, for the battle is not done, and we must confess Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords through His Gospel. We must continue to proclaim and live out His Gospel Message even in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation!
IS SATAN SILENCING YOU?
"But Peter and John answered them, 'Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard."' (Acts 4:19-21)
I have observed that often we start our walk with Christ on fire, and suddenly that fire is gone. We share the Good News of Jesus, our Lord, what He has done for us, our joy, and hope. But often, with the passing of time, we become indifferent, and we care no more. We are silent and ashamed because of persecution or perhaps because our faith is questioned; maybe because someone has mocked or ridiculed our faith. We stop sharing the blessings of redemption with others. We must not allow Satan to get his way! We must speak up about the Lord, the penalty for sin, and the remedy that the Lord has provided. We must share His powerful Gospel of salvation and shout it out from the rooftops to a dark world dying of sin!
- Satan Silences Us By Causing Fear In Us:
Let's not be silenced!
I think about that time when I was diligently seeking my Lord, and He provided someone to share the Good News with me. My friend was not afraid and intimidated by Satan. Had it not been for her determination in doing so, I would not be here and have the convictions Grace has taught me. Thank God for those who will speak up and will not be afraid to proclaim the Good News of salvation no matter what the circumstances might be! Thank God that they did not allow Satan to silence them!
Although God's world rejects God's sovereignty and righteousness and fails to submit to His rule, He is still Lord and King ruling from His mighty throne. Satan cannot thwart God's victory of righteousness, even though he intends to destroy mankind with deceit and lawlessness. We must continue being soldiers of the cross to defeat the evil one and his lawlessness with the Sword of God, the Gospel.
- Our Faith Must Not Waver:
As long as we continue living on this earth as faithful followers of Christ, our battle is not done. We, the righteous, must keep fighting the good fight of our faith until our last breath. We understand and accept that we have a spiritual war to fight. We must fight that war with God's whole armor to be victorious! And though our fight seems difficult, we must still proclaim the Gospel Truth in love no matter how much resistance we face. Our faith must not waver. We must trust in God to help us fight the good fight of faith no matter how vigorously we are attacked or persecuted.
Therefore, we Christians must not compromise our faith and convictions because of pressure and persecution (such as the first century Christians suffered) or out of a desire to conform to this world (Rom. 12:1-2). Jesus warned His disciples, saying,
"For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels" (Luke 9:26).
CONCLUSION:
We must stand up for the Truth of God's divine Word even if that involves persecution, being scorned and ridiculed, even put to death. We must keep teaching sinners the Gospel even if Satan shuts our mouths. We must not deny our Lord His Lordship and fail to defend the Gospel Message. We cannot afford to be silent about the riches of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. God will not allow us to have a silent faith. We must have a speaking faith!
May our Lord give us the courage to speak boldly to those in darkness by drawing them to the Truth and pointing them to the Light of our Lord Jesus. Let's speak of His Grace and hope. May our Lord help us to never be ashamed of His Testimonies, Precepts, and Statutes, which are life to the dying soul. May we proclaim faithfully and boldly the riches of His Gospel, His power unto salvation for everyone who believes in Him.
To Him be the glory!
Luci
